Fishless Cycle Problem

[krelll]

:( I'm stuck with a weird cycling problem. At the end of the fishless cycle, I have

ph 7.5
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 80

If I add 2ppm ammonia, it'll turned 0 within 8 hours. So everything is working fine.

Now, I did a 90% water change(mix tap water+seachem prime in barrel, then pump into aquarium)... After that, I added some ammonia just to test if it still works.

To my surprise, the ammonia is still there 48 hours later. It's like the cycle is starting all over again... and I have no idea what I did wrong. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Any idea what went wrong?

Thanks,
Lee

[Dee]

G'day Lee,

Try doing another large WC, although this time don't add any Prime. Prime removes/binds ammonia, so adding ammonia after adding Prime may have something to do with it ... its a shot in the dark, but may be the problem.

Other than that, I can't see why your tank would restart the cycle process.

HTH

Cheers,

Dee :D

[Bill T.]

I want to do a fishless cycle, but I can't find a convenient source of ammonium. Superkmarkets used to sell it, but they all seem to have gone for cluody ammmonia, which has detergent in it.
Where do you get your ammonia from?

[G-1000]

Bill T - get power ammonia from coles.

G

[krelll]

G'day Lee,

Try doing another large WC, although this time don't add any Prime. Prime removes/binds ammonia, so adding ammonia after adding Prime may have something to do with it ... its a shot in the dark, but may be the problem.

Other than that, I can't see why your tank would restart the cycle process.

HTH

Cheers,

Dee :D

Thanks Dee. I'll give it a try.

Lee

[krelll]

I want to do a fishless cycle, but I can't find a convenient source of ammonium. Superkmarkets used to sell it, but they all seem to have gone for cluody ammmonia, which has detergent in it.
Where do you get your ammonia from?

Bill,

I am using ammonium chloride powder from chemical supply companies. 1 gram will yield 1ppm ammonia in a 100gallon(US) tank.

Lee

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi Krell,

I believe D is right on the money, once you add Prime or any other ammonia binding chemical to your water your test readings will be all over the place and inaccurate.
MAC